Blockchain-Based Voting in the US and EU Constitutional Orders: A Digital Technology to Secure Democratic Values?

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 330-358
Author(s):  
Desmond JOHNSON
Keyword(s):  
Civic Participation ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Democratic Legitimacy ◽  
Public Confidence ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Blockchain Technology ◽  
The Us ◽  
Right To Vote ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Eu

The right to vote and participate in the political process is a quintessential feature of any democratic society. Systematic risks to the integrity of US elections and passive civic participation in the EU political process present fundamental threats to the constitutional aspirations and the democratic ideals connected to “We the People” in the US and “United in Diversity” in the EU. The existence of power imbalances, social inequalities and information asymmetries in electoral and political processes illustrate that both jurisdictions are in peril and in risk of democratic backsliding. Blockchain-based voting can transform existing electoral and political processes in the digital age. This raises the question whether blockchain-based voting can be utilised as a digital tool to enhance the democratic legitimacy of US and EU electoral and political systems. Accordingly, this article aims to examine the prospects and limits of blockchain technology to secure foundational democratic norms connected to the right to vote and civic participation at the heart of contemporary constitutionalism. It contends that the decentralised, immutable, accessible, transparent, and secure processes of blockchain technology have the potential to enhance the legitimacy of the US and EU constitutional orders, since blockchain-based voting can act as a forum for enhanced civic participation, public deliberation, and democratic contestation. Nevertheless, the article concludes that a number of important steps must be taken to fully realise the potential of blockchain-based voting in a manner that combats the risks associated with the technology, strengthens public confidence in electoral and political processes and secures a balanced system of governance in the US and the EU constitutional orders.

Judicial Review

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Schillig
Keyword(s):  
Judicial Review ◽  
Due Process ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Bank Resolution ◽  
The Us ◽  
Charter Of Fundamental Rights ◽  
Us Constitution ◽  
Takings Clause ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Eu

The exercise of extensive powers by authorities during the recovery and resolution process may interfere with constitutionally protected fundamental rights of stakeholder in a multitude of ways. Particularly relevant are the right to conduct a business and the right to property under the EU Charter of fundamental rights, as well as the takings clause under the US constitution. A balance needs to be struck between the aims and objectives of bank resolution and the rights of investors and the requirements of due process. This is normally achieved through expedited and limited judicial review. This chapter assesses whether and to what extent the respective procedures are in line with constitutional and fundamental rights requirements.

22. The Right to Free Elections

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernadette Rainey ◽  
Elizabeth Wicks ◽  
Andclare Ovey
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Electoral Systems ◽  
Case Law ◽  
The State ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Democratic Legitimacy ◽  
Right To Vote ◽  
The Right

This chapter examines the protection of the right to free elections in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). It discusses the provisions of Article 3 of Protocol 1 and highlights the increasing number of complaints of violations of this Article, which indicates that the Strasbourg Court is giving fresh emphasis to this provision as essential to the foundations of democratic legitimacy of the State. The chapter also discusses case-law on the nature of the legislature, electoral systems, the right to vote, and the right to stand for election.

Law, Politics, and Democracy in the Twenty-first Century

2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 357-362
Author(s):  
J. Mitchell Pickerill
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Political Process ◽  
First Century ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Court Decisions ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Law And Politics ◽  
Law And Courts ◽  
The Us

Political scientists have long rejected the old law and politics dichotomy and recognize instead that law and court decisions are inherently political in numerous ways. Still, courts are not the same as executive and legislative institutions, and law is not simply a synonym for politics or policy. Law and courts are distinct and yet connected to political processes and policy outcomes in complex and nuanced ways. The question for law and courts scholars, then, is how and why do political actors (with seemingly increasing frequency) turn to law and the judiciary to influence public policy, and what are the impacts of infusing law and courts into the US political process? The three recent books under review help to answer these questions.

African Americans

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Bettez
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
Federal Food ◽  
The Us ◽  
War Effort ◽  
American Resident ◽  
Right To Vote ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Military

This chapter discusses the dilemma of African Americans: whether to support a war to make America safe for democracy, even though they were often denied civil rights and democratic freedoms such as the right to vote. Louisville African American resident and newspaperman Roscoe Conklin Simmons supported the US entry into the war and tried to rally Kentucky blacks to the war effort. Black newspaper publisher Phil Brown of Hopkinsville was also active in this endeavor. He initially assisted federal food administrator Fred Sackett in food conservation efforts and then turned his attention to garnering and organizing black support for other war-support activities. This included African Americans who joined the military, many of whom trained at Camp Taylor. The chapter includes the experiences of Austin Kinnaird, a white officer from Louisville who commanded black troops, and Charles Lewis, a black soldier still in uniform when he was lynched in Fulton County a month after the armistice.

US sanctions and the right to use bank accounts in European banks for non-residents of the European Economic Area

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-93
Author(s):  
Vladimir A. Jilkine
Keyword(s):  
Real Estate ◽  
International Law ◽  
European Economic Area ◽  
Banking Services ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
Economic Area ◽  
The Us ◽  
European Banks ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Eu

The article considers the decision of the Helsinki County court on the claim of a Finnish citizen to be granted the right to use banking services in Finnish banks from the international law perspective. The Helsinki district court, in its decision promulgated on 13.01.2020, rejected Boris Rotenbergs claim against Svenska Handelsbanken AB, Nordea Bank Abp, Danske Bank, and OP Yrityspankki Oyj. The court recognized the financial risks of a Finnish citizens Scandinavian banks under US sanctions above international law and fair trial guarantees. There is no doubt that this court decision will have further consequences in the judicial proceedings of Western banks for foreigners who do not permanently reside in the European economic area (EEA), and in other similar cases, and in ensuring the judicial practice unity in EU countries. First of all, this applies to any foreigners who do not have the right to permanent residence in the EU countries, but who have real estate in the form of investments or regularly come for a holiday. Previously, buying real estate in Europe was considered a reliable investment of foreign funds and a guarantee for obtaining banking services in Western banks. Based on this legal precedent, the European courts can now recognize the risks of secondary US sanctions against any banks, not only in the case of Russians from the SDN sanctions list, but also on any suspicion of money laundering by bank employees. The courts decision was based primarily on the testimony given by the former head of OFAC, who stated that even before the decision was made in 2017, the US administration already had a legal tool for punishing foreign individuals and legal entities who interact with Russians on the SDN sanctions list. As long as the US dollar is one of the main currencies in the settlements between the states, the US Treasury will control not only the dollar transactions, but also the very principle of the global banking system functioning. This court decision may become the first legal precedent for most European banks in the EU countries wherein the real estate of foreigners who do not live in the EEA countries is located, regardless of their citizenship and residence permit.

Are banks using leverage to target return on equity? Evidence from the US and the EU

2019 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 863-892 ◽  
Author(s):  
Spyros Pagratis ◽  
Eleni Karakatsani ◽  
Helen Louri
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Commercial Banks ◽  
Publicly Traded ◽  
Return On Equity ◽  
The Public ◽  
Large Group ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Eu

Abstract We find evidence that banks actively use leverage to attain RoE targets and that leverage adjustments are primarily driven by capital distributions to shareholders. Using a large group of publicly-traded commercial banks from the US and the EU for the period 2001–2013, we demonstrate that this effect particularly holds for large banks before the crisis. Such behaviour may have led banks to enter the crisis with insufficient capital buffers to absorb losses, requiring unprecedented support by the public sector to maintain their solvency. Therefore, recent policies restricting the use of RoE as a metric in remuneration schemes and introducing constraints to capital distributions unless banks maintain certain buffers above the regulatory minimum, are in the right direction.

scholarly journals A Democratic Dilemma of European Power to Tax: Reconstructing the Symbiosis Between Taxation and Democracy Beyond the State?

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (05) ◽  
pp. 660-678
Author(s):  
Jussi Jaakkola
Keyword(s):  
Political Process ◽  
Political Community ◽  
Income Taxation ◽  
Democratic Legitimacy ◽  
Member States ◽  
Democratic Community ◽  
Democratic Dilemma ◽  
Regulatory Effects ◽  
The One ◽  
The Eu

AbstractIn Western capitalist societies, the three postwar decades witnessed a strong interconnection between income taxation and democracy. On the one hand, the democratically representative political process constituted a precondition for the legitimacy of taxation. On the other hand, redistributive income taxation enhanced conditions for equal democratic participation by allocating resources and equalizing political power among citizens. The asymmetric European integration that has advanced transnationalization of cross-border market order but preserved income taxation under national political authority has established fiscal interdependence between Member States of the EU and exposed them to transnational regulatory effects. As a result, Member States’ performance to uphold the symbiosis between democracy and taxation has eroded. While this has led some to call for further integration of taxes beyond the nation state, others have remained skeptical about the democratic legitimacy of Europeanized taxation. This Article argues that the Europeanization of income taxation would help to reconstruct the conditions under which the symbiosis between income taxation and democracy is restored, although this requires the notion of democratic community to be reinterpreted according to the standards that cannot be equated with nation-based boundaries of a political community.

scholarly journals Saving EU digital constitutionalism through the proportionality principle and a transatlantic digital accord

European View ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 178168582110555
Author(s):  
Jan Czarnocki
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Global Influence ◽  
Proportionality Principle ◽  
The Eu

The article explains the importance of the emerging movement for EU digital constitutionalism (EUDC), which reflects a Union-wide effort to address through regulation the challenges posed by digitalisation. The article outlines the core legislative acts that have been introduced by proponents of EUDC. It describes why EUDC is important for fundamental rights protection and European foreign policy, and how the ‘Brussels effect’ extends the impact of EUDC. It enquires into whether EUDC is sustainable, taking into consideration waning EU global influence and the need for economic growth. The EU needs to strike a balance between fundamental rights protection and economic growth. The proportionality principle is the right tool for this. A proportional approach should be followed in establishing a transatlantic digital accord with the US—an agreement on the basic principles governing the digital space. A more proportional approach will pave the way to such an agreement—giving EUDC a global scope.

scholarly journals D. Trump as a Factor in the Political Demarcation in Europe

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 76-83
Author(s):  
Pavel Ivanov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
European Countries ◽  
The Political ◽  
White House ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
The Us ◽  
Political Differences ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Eu

The article analyzes the role of the American leader as an indicator of internal political contradictions in European society. The subject of the research is the socio-political differences in Europe in the context of attitudes towards the political course and personality of US President D. Trump. The purpose of the study is to identify the main political forces that approve and share D. Trump's policies in the EU countries, the reasons for support, and efforts to advance their positions. The US initiatives to change the European political landscape are disclosed. The reasons for the growth of support for the US President and the transformation of attitudes towards him in European countries are revealed. The author reveals the conflict potential of socio-political challenges and the sharpness of disagreements regarding the policy of the White House. Conclusions are drawn about the similarity of the socio-political delimitation in European countries and the United States, a high level of D. Trump's influence on the internal political processes in the EU is noted. The author came to the conclusion about the strengthening of support for the American president, the growing popularity of the conservative parties of the «political alternative» and the deepening of the internal political division, both in Europe and in the United States.

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